NAMED BY ART FAIR SOURCEBOOK AS AMONG TOP 25 EVENTS FOR 2017!
#18 FINE CRAFT! #20 FINE ART!

Greetings from the 27th annual Marion Arts Festival, in Marion, Iowa! (Adjacent to Cedar Rapids, in East Central Iowa.) The MAF presents 50 artists, offering both fine art and fine craft to an audience of 10,000.

Marion is a "vintage uptown" type of community, and a part of the Cedar Rapids metro area.Our show is one-day, intimate, and purposeful, with the mission to be an event through which you will thrive. (Here, we're obligated to insert that we're volunteer-driven, kind of hokey and maybe more than a little mom-and-pop ... in good ways, mostly.) There are no bands, there is no beer ... our festival is about the art. (However, we do cop to falafel.)

General Information

DATE AND TIMESaturday, May 18, 2019
9:00 am-5:00 pm

ENTRY DEADLINE
Tuesday, January 4, 2019

ENTRY FEE
$25

BOOTH COST
$250

NO BANDS.
NO BEER.
JUST ART.

NAMED BY ART FAIR SOURCEBOOK AS AMONG TOP 25 EVENTS FOR 2017!
#18 FINE CRAFT! #20 FINE ART!

Greetings from the 27th annual Marion Arts Festival, in Marion, Iowa! (Adjacent to Cedar Rapids, in East Central Iowa.) The MAF presents 50 artists, offering both fine art and fine craft to an audience of 10,000.

Marion is a "vintage uptown" type of community, anda part of the Cedar Rapids metro area.Our show is one-day, intimate, and purposeful, with the mission to be an event through which you will thrive. (Here, we're obligated to insert that we're volunteer-driven, kind of hokey and maybe more than a little mom-and-pop ... in good ways, mostly.) There are no bands, there is no beer ... our festival is about the art. (However, we do cop to falafel.)

Please enjoy our favorite video of all time! It has nothing to do with the event; we're just on a mission to put it in front of all who may be charmed by it. (Rescue puppies! IKEA!)

ARTIST AMENITIES

Friday check-in and set-up

Friday evening artists’ party

Overnight security

Booth sitters and energetic volunteers

Awards include invitation to following year’s show

16-page festival program with color image for each exhibitor, distributed to 80,000 area households via the Sunday-prior Cedar Rapids Gazette

We're a 50-artist show, with the previous year's four winners being invited back the following year, making 46 spots available to each year's applicants. Special note: our alternate list is of a potentially-distressing size. We'll establish a list that is at least one (and in some instances two or three) artists-deep for each of our 50 spots. By way of example, if our jurors invite nine ceramicists, we will likely have 15+ alternates (or rather, those who will have us, as being an alternate is nobody's idea of fun).

We do this because we're competing with other top-ranking shows in Belleville IL and Reston VA our same weekend. As folks from our original slate of invitees inevitably are called up by those shows, we turn to artists who best fill the niche represented/left by that original exhibitor. It works this same way in all media categories: we fill a ceramics booth with another like-minded ceramicist, jewelry with another like-minded jeweler, et al.

The MAF is a tiny, tiny show, and our commitment to our exhibitors is to balance the show in a way that showcases your work as unique. Each year, our goal is to be the best show we can for those exhibiting with us.

Rules/RegulationsAS YOU CONSIDER WHETHER OUR EVENT IS THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOU, WE ASK YOU TO KEEP THESE SPECIAL POINTS IN MIND:

The Marion Arts Festival is an all-originals show, with no reproductions. Commercial products are not allowed.

Printmaking:in this category, only hand-pulled original prints are acceptable, in signed and numbered limited editions.

Photography:you know, we've come to realize this is an ever-changing medium, in that digital and graphic arts can overlap with photography. What we wish to avoid are works printed en masse; rather, we're looking for artwork that is by the artist's own hand, whether that be through printing, hand-coloring, digital manipulation, et al. Please use the "description of material and technique" section of application as an opportunity to speak to the jurors regarding your process. Signed and numbered limited editions, please.

Digital/graphics: limited editions, signed and numbered.

Ceramics:if molds are used, please explain your process in the “Description of Material and Technique” section of the application.

Jewelers:please explain your process and materials. Are all components hand-fabricated by you? Are some components pre-manufactured? Please explain in the “Description of Material and Technique” section of the application.All jewelry must be juried in the jewelry category (i.e. no glass jewelry in a glass booth unless such has been juried in the jewelry category[sorry to be picking on glass]).

Only work representative of that submitted for jury may be exhibited.We reserve the right to reject any displayed items not in keeping with the application images.

The quality and presentation of your booth is VERY important to us,and your booth shot must be representative of your set up on festival day.

Artists must be present during the eventand must personally staff their booth. No dealers, agents or representatives will be permitted.

A SPECIAL NOTE:
IF YOU CURRENTLY EXHIBIT AT A GALLERY IN THE CEDAR RAPIDS AREA, please speak with the owner prior to making an application. That way, nobody gets hurt.

YOU MIGHT JUST GET A PHONE CALL - or an email - if we have questions regarding your application. Again, this is because we care, and want to be the right show for you.

Artists invited to exhibit at the 2019 Marion Arts Festival will sign a statement of process and an affirmation that the work seen and accepted through the jury process is representative of the work that will be displayed and sold at the event.

The Marion Arts Festival assumes no liability in case of loss or damage to artwork. Insurance is the responsibility of the artist.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications to the 2019 Marion Arts Festival will be accepted and processed exclusively through ZAPPlication.org.

Submit four images of current, representative work and one booth shot, for a total of five images. For tips on image preparation, read the Image Preparation information on the ZAPP main page. Event jurors will view artist images on individual computer monitors over a two-week period.

Artist/exhibitors may enter in more than one medium, but must submit a separate applications, with fee and images(meaning, a unique and distinct ZAPP profile must be used to apply in multiple mediums). If only one application is accepted, only work in that medium may be exhibited. For example, as per several paragraphs above, all jewelry must have been juried in the jewelry category.

Entry Fee
$25. A non-refundable credit card purchase, payable through ZAPPlication, must be made with each application. Checks will not be accepted. A booth fee is NOT required at the time of application.

Booth Cost
$250

IMPORTANT DATES

Application Available: August 14, 2018

Application Deadline: January 4, 2019

Notification Date:February 2, 2019 (via email); all applicants will be notified on this date.

Selected artists will receive a contract and show information with their notice of acceptance. Booth fee and signed contract will be due/postmarked:February 15, 2019

No refunds will be made to exhibitors who cancel on or after: March 25, 2019.

Booth InformationBOOTH SPACE
The MAF is an outdoor show - the event goes on RAIN OR SHINE/NO RAIN DATE. Please be prepared for any eventuality in the weather. Tents or canopies are required.

All booths are on grass; tents can be staked. Booth spaces measure 10’ x 10’;many exhibitors allow for entrance on at least two sides. There is approximately 7’ of storage space behind each booth, and 6' between booths.

Sadly, DOUBLE BOOTHS are NOT AVAILABLE.There isNO ELECTRICITY AVAILABLE to artist booths. Our apologies; the good news is, it never rains. (Well ... just four times in 25 years.)

Thank you for your interest, and (perhaps especially) for reading this far!Please ask us ANYTHING. You have our best wishes toward planning your spring and summer season!

I understand, accept and will abide by the rules and policies set forth in the application. I also release the Marion Arts Festival (MAF), all sponsoring organizations, and all directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors and volunteers of the event and of the Marion Chamber of Commerce from any responsibility, personal liability, claims, loss or damage arising out of or in conjunction with my application to, or participation in, the 2019 MAF. I understand that I store my art at my own risk, without exception or limitation.

Applicant/Artist understands and agrees that by submitting this application, s/he consents to, and authorizes the use of any and/or all images of his/her work in promotional literature and/or other promotional efforts of the MAF, its officers, directors and agents. Said images may be used in any fashion at the sole and exclusive discretion of the MAF. Such uses may include, but are not limited to, brochures of artist work that have been previously displayed or will be displayed, print advertisements, television advertisements and internet displays.